Pidge (Legendary Defender)
Pidge Gunderson, whose true name is Katie Holt, is the current Paladin of the Green Lion of Voltron. Fiction Voltron: Legendary Defender (TV series) Biography Pidge's father and brother were lost on a mission to Kerberos, a moon of Pluto, along with Shiro. Pidge began her unrelenting search for her missing family, refusing to believe the official report of their deaths by pilot error. After being discovered hacking into Galaxy Garrison computers she was escorted off the property and forbidden from ever returning. To further her investigation she went undercover as a Galaxy Garrison cadet by the name of "Pidge Gunderson." She cut her hair and donned glasses to disguise herself as a boy. Infiltrating Galaxy Patrol, she wound up assigned to a team with Lance and Hunk. Pidge eventually developed machinery that enabled him to pick up interstellar radio chatter, which allowed him to learn of Galra Empire activity on the edge of the solar system. She and her teammates-who had recently failed a simulation flight to Kerberos-then saw what appeared to be a meteorite but turned out to be a Galran escape craft carrying Shiro. Breaking him out of Galaxy Patrol custody along with Keith, the group eventually found the Blue Lion in a nearby cavern. After narrowly escaping a Galra attack, the group found themselves transported via wormhole to Arus, where they met Princess Allura and Coran and learned about Voltron. Given the chance to save their home and the galaxy, Pidge and her teammates became the new Paladins of Voltron, with Pidge becoming the pilot of the Green Lion. When the Red Lion was discovered aboard Sendak's ship, the Paladins took the three Lions they had available into action to retrieve it. During this mission, Pidge revealed that Shiro's old crewmates were her father and brother without disclosing her original identity, and he and Shiro went to find them only to find that they weren't aboard ship anymore. They did manage to rescue several prisoners, and with the Red Lion retrieved the Paladins were able to obtain the Black Lion and eventually form Voltron, destroying Sendak's ship. Concern for her missing relatives would eventually interfere with Pidge's ability to unify with her team and form Voltron at will, prompting Shiro to accompany him on a trip to the wreckage of Sendak's ship to try and learn what they could about the missing pair. Talking to the prisoners had revealed a disturbing account of Shiro attacking her brother Matt before engaging a Galra gladiator, who then appeared as a Robeast that the Paladins were forced to engage. Shiro's reawakened memories of the monster revealed that he had injured Matt in order to insure that he wouldn't face the gladiator and be harmed or killed, something that Pidge was immensely grateful to Shiro for. At this time Shiro revealed that he knew about her real identity, but promised that he would keep it a secret. The Space Mice felt no such need for secrecy and confided in Allura, who approached Pidge, hoping that she would open up, only for Pidge to announce her intention to leave the Paladins and search for her missing relatives. However, her solo mission was halted when the still-living Sendak and her subordinate Nexus destroyed the castle's power crystal and then infiltrated it after Hunk and Coran had left in search of a new one and Keith and Allura had left to attend to the local Arusian population who were under attack. With Lance injured and Shiro captured, it fell to Pidge and the Space Mice to thwart the Galrans and enable the return of their allies, with Pidge flashing back to the events that had led to her unlikely involvement with Voltron. Realizing that she had become part of something larger, Pidge decided to stay with the team, and further decided to tell the team that she was a girl; despite fears that it would change how her friends looked at him, she was readily accepted by all for who she was. The Castle of Lions then departed Arus to go to the aid of a Balmera that the Galra had been mining for energy crystals. During the mission to save the planet, Pidge revealed that she had modified the Green Lion with a cloaking device, and with her comrades managed to save the Balmerans, including Hunk's friend Shay. The group were then forced to contend with another Robeast as well as the Balmera's imminent collapse, but were able to defeat the monster while Allura healed the living planetoid using her powers. Sadly, the group would then deal with the consequences of Sendak's previous takeover of the castle, as Galran crystal energy polluted the system and caused an A.I. of Allura's father Alfor to become corrupted and try to destroy them, forcing Allura to destroy the virtual copy of her father. Piecing together the information recovered from Sendak's ship and extracted memories, the team then learned of a transport hub that they infiltrated in order to gain information about Zarkon's plans. When the hub proved to have no information, Allura and Shiro boarded an arriving ship in search of the intel, only for the group to be exposed and forced to flee with Allura being captured. This led them to attempt an ill-fated assault on Zarkon's central command, where Zarkon's immense powers caused Voltron to separate and forced the pilots to fight separately against the overwhelming number of Galran ships. They succeeded in rescuing Allura, but while escaping their wormhole was blasted by Haggar, causing it to deteriorate and apparently scatter all five Lions and the castle to parts unknown. Personality She is a tech genius, and is more than capable of learning how to operate advanced alien technology on the fly, showcasing her vast intelligence. Shiro was the first to know of her past identity as he had worked extensively with her father and brother during his time as a pilot. Allura also found out from the Space Mice, while Hunk, Keith, and Coran all expressed little or no surprise at the revelation; only Lance was stunned. Whether because she was already somewhat tomboyish or because it had been a while since she transitioned, she has a number of habits and mannerisms that left Allura wondering about her gender after she found out. Pidge is also an intensely private young person who has a hard time bonding with people and needs a bit of personal space. She had a profoundly hard time with her psychic training due to this deep-seated aspect of her personality, although this may stem from her dealing with her gender. Among her teammates she is closest to Shiro and Hunk. Her close friendship with Shiro is due to him having known her from his time working with her brother and father. Pidge often looks to Shiro for guidance, much like one would seek from her brother, and Shiro often offers perspective and focus when Pidge is anxious or scared. Their bond deepened when Pidge forgave Shiro for wounding her brother Matt in his gladiator days after Shiro explained that he did it to keep Matt from fighting in Zarkon's arena. Since then Shiro has been Pidge's closest friend/surrogate brother. Hunk and Pidge get along due to their common ground as science experts and due to Hunk's cheery demeanor balancing out Pidge's excitability as well as having bonded at the Garrison. They often work together on the Lions to install Pidge's constant upgrades to them, and they often get caught in ridiculous situations together. Along with Shiro, Pidge is usually the first to call out Lance on his womanizing and somewhat sexist and overly flirtatious personality, usually in the form of comical displays of violence such as punching him, shocking him, and so on. This likely stems from her having put up with Lance's commentary and shallowness during their time at the Garrison and the fact that she finds his behavior to be incredibly disrespectful given her being a girl. Abilities She is also agile, nimble, and uses a Bayard that takes the form of a small, arrow-shaped blade that possesses the ability to deliver a painful electrical shock, a grapple function that can be used for both transport and incapacitating enemies, and has an edge that can cut through extremely thick metal plating with little to no trouble. She is also the shortest member of team Voltron and is frequently underestimated for it. She is friendly, good natured, intellectual, curious, and passionate. She considered leaving the team early on to find her brother and father, and became very emotional when she discovered that Shiro had hurt her brother, only to find out later that he had done so to prevent him from fighting in Zarkon's gladiatorial arena. When Pidge found this out, she teared up and hugged Shiro, thanking him for saving her brother's life. Pidge is also frequently the one who puts Lance in his place when faced with his condescension and antics, such as when she mocked her Bayard's small form and she promptly punched him in the side with it, delivering a very potent shock that left the Blue Paladin whimpering on the ground. Notes * This is the first incarnation of Pidge and the first full-time pilot of the Green Lion to be a girl Gallery Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge & Hunk.jpg|The Group together in their casual clothes Keith_&_Pidge.jpg|"Get in the robot Shinji." Lance_&_Pidge.png|Pidge reveals her true identity Pidge & Shiro.png|Hugging Shiro Shiro & Pidge during mental exercise.png|Pidge being uncomfortable of her memory exposure Team Voltron - LD.png|Team Voltron's first victory Vlcsnap-2016-06-14-01h46m51s236.png|Pidge freaking out from Lance's first run in the Blue Lion Team Voltron in Blue Lion.png Team Voltron (V.L.D.).png Team_Voltron_in_Space.jpg Pidge_&_Rover.png|Pidge with Rover Team_Voltron_in_Castle_Ship.jpg Shiro,_Pidge_and_Galra's_Prisoners.jpg Team_Voltron_and_Sendak.jpg Team Voltron in Cave.jpg Category:Voltron: Legendary Defender characters